


The Heart Speaks In Whiskers

by JamtheDingus



Series: Hunk Ship Week, 2018 [5]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Cats, Domestic, Established Relationship, Just Add Kittens, M/M, Married Couple, after the war
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-14
Updated: 2018-07-14
Packaged: 2019-06-10 10:17:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15289353
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JamtheDingus/pseuds/JamtheDingus
Summary: “Welcome home…?” Shiro hurries to the linen closet for a towel or three, hooking them under one arm as he turns up the heat on their thermostat. “What’s going on?”Hunk wrings out his hair right on the carpet, and, in retaliation, Shiro dumps all three towels directly on his head with a grin.“I, uh…” Hunk dries off behind his ears, half-flushed from running through the rain but mostly from the cold. “Well, I guess I’d better show you.”---Hunk finds a box of kittens, and Shiro can'tnotfall in love with them.





	The Heart Speaks In Whiskers

**Author's Note:**

> highkey based off a tumblr post i made like FOREVER ago that i randomly fell in love with recently
> 
>  
> 
> ~~the title is a pun off my FAVORITE song~~

Rain pitter-pattered against the windows, background noise that would have droned in Shiro’s ears like buzzing bees if not for the soft music flowing from his old radio. Hunk had fixed it up for him after a few years of Shiro taking it in and out of shops, and had presented it as their first anniversary gift. Shiro could hardly think of any present that he’d give Hunk in return to make up for it, but Hunk didn’t seem to mind much.

“As long as you listen to it and smile, I’ll be satisfied enough.” He’d said, and Shiro had gathered him up in the tightest hug he could muster and kissed him all over his face.

He’d probably be doing that now, actually, if his husband wasn’t missing.

Shiro dog-ears the page he wasn’t reading in the book he forgot the title of, despite having ‘read’ it for the past few hours, to instead pat around the couch for his phone.

A crack of thunder startles him, and the entire house living room gets illuminated with lightning just as soon as the lights flicker on and off.

He hears a frightened yelp from the door, and sits up straight and alarmed until he hears the familiar jingle of keys against the knick-knacks Hunk keeps attached to his keychain.

After a few minutes, when it becomes obvious that Hunk is struggling to slot the key in and unlock the thing, Shiro fondly sighs and pads over with a soft, “Coming!”

The first thing he sees when he opens the door is Hunk, drenched through the skin. His umbrella is inverted where it’s nestled between his neck and shoulder, but he seems more worried about the peculiar box he has, covered by a sopping tablecloth that Shiro recognizes to be from Hunk’s very own restaurant.

After the war (and after everything after the war), the two of them had settled down in a house in the middle of nowhere. The paladins, who were no longer paladins, all lived in the same neighbor, close because it’s a heavy absent when even just one is missing.

They’d all become ‘productive members of society’ over the years, somehow. Shiro had become a teacher— a mentor to those who wanted to explore the stars. Hunk had inherited his family’s restaurant almost as soon as he’d returned to Earth, but eventually decided to make his own, much closer to home.

It was easy when half the galaxy was in love with his cooking, already.

Shiro hurriedly side-steps out of the way as Hunk rushes in, though he gratefully accepts the greeting kiss Hunk always gives him, right on the nose.

“Welcome home…?” Shiro hurries to the linen closet for a towel or three, hooking them under one arm as he turns up the heat on their thermostat. “What’s going on?”

Hunk wrings out his hair right on the carpet, and, in retaliation, Shiro dumps all three towels directly on his head with a grin.

“I, uh…” Hunk dries off behind his ears, half-flushed from running through the rain but mostly from the cold. “Well, I guess I’d better show you.”

Hunk wraps the towel across the top of his head, stuffing the tail-end in his teeth to keep it from getting in the way.  As he unwraps the tablecloth from the box— and Shiro suddenly realizes that he’d stuffed not one but _two_ inside of it, probably to protect whatever was inside from the frigid downpour— Shiro plops down beside him and curiously peers over his shoulder.

What blinks back at him melts his heart faster than any A/C every could.

A soft meow echoes through the empty box as the cats are freed, and four pairs of brilliantly amber eyes look back at him. Hunk murmurs to them, calm little nothings, but Shiro is so entranced that he doesn’t even hear it as he leans over the box to get a better look at them.

One, a short-haired something, shies away from his touch as he reaches in, hiding in a corner. Shiro makes sure to give it some space, and instead focuses on the curious, excitable one that immediately latches onto his finger like a tick to a deer.

The teeth don’t hurt much, but he tuts at it softly anyway. “Bad kitty.”

When he wags his finger at it in admonishment, the kitten only takes a swipe at the finger— a playful bat. Shiro can’t help but grin at it, anyway.

“I know that look.” Hunk speaks up, vaguely smug. “Knew you wouldn’t mind me bringing them home.”

The curious kitten dangles from the side of the box which, being wet, begins to collapse under its weight. Shiro hurriedly scoops it up and begins to gently scratch behind its ear. “Of course not! They were abandoned?”

Hunk gives a solemn hum. “About to get washed down the sewage. The alley they were in must have flooded, or something, because they were floating right down the side of the street.” With a shake of his head, Hunk stands and wanders to the kitchen. “You hungry? I need to find them something to eat.”

“I’m good.” Shiro calls, distractedly. They all must have been part of the same litter, seeing as they all had the same wide, golden eyes. The one he holds wags its tail at the very tip, but it doesn’t seem to be angry as it switches from one of his arms to the other, so Shiro keeps holding it.

Instead, he focuses on the other two kittens in the box, besides the shy one that had curled up into as small a ball as can be and seemed to be napping.

“Hey there, pretty babies.” Shiro mutters, falling easily into baby-talk. “Aren’t you so pretty?”

A pair of ears flicker at him, trying to discern the words as the kitty wanders over. Shiro lifts her out, smoothing down the cowlick of fur above her eyes, and she gives him a piercing meow in return that, hopefully, means thank you.

She was a hefty thing, and Shiro heaves an exaggerated grunt as he lifts her up to scritch at her pudgy belly. “Atleast you’re well fed, little baby.” He coos. The cat curls herself around his lap, probably would have wrapped herself around him twice if she could, and he quickly realizes that he doesn’t have enough arms for the cats they now own.

“Hunk.” Shiro whines, “I’m in love.”

He hears Hunk snort all the way from the refrigerator, and it only takes a moment for him to poke his head from the archway. “Yeah? I have a feeling you’re not talking about me, there.”

He wipes his hands clean on the towel still wrapped around his head and the smell of chicken follows him as he circles around Shiro to steal the two cats from him. Almost immediately, the one that had staked claim on Shiro’s arm instead braves the mountains of Hunk’s shoulders and loudly meows in his ear in triumph once he reaches the top.

Shiro leans into the box again for the next two.

The shy one hesitantly sniffs at his fingers, whiskers tickling his palm when it leans in to lick his wrist. This one has a peculiar color compared to the rest, an orange-ish blonde where the rest are black and grey.

It sneezes on him as he picks it up, and Hunk softly snickers, “Cat boogers.”

This kitten decides to hop from his hold and hide between his crossed legs, squeezing under his thigh to curl at the warmth of his socked feet.

Before Shiro can reach for the last one, Hunk clicks his tongue. “That’s a real mean one.” He warns, gesturing with his head back towards the kitchen. “Might wanna wait until you can bribe ‘em with treats.”

Shiro pouts before he can stop himself. Hunk rolls his eyes, teasing, and leans over to give him another kiss, a more present one.

“Sorry for springing this on you, babe. I couldn’t just leave them there.”

“I’m glad you didn’t.” Shiro hurries to agree. “Who knows what could have happened.”

He looks longingly at the cat that had clawed her way atop Hunk’s towel and was currently precariously balanced as she gauged the distance from there to the couch, meowing non-stop as she had been since she’d been let loose. Hunk catches her before she even lifts her back legs up to pounce, and sets her on the carpet instead.

She immediately paces around them, not exactly stalking, and finds Shiro’s fingernails positively fascinating to lick at once he tries to pet her behind the ears.

The timer in the kitchen goes off, and Shiro once again finds himself buried in cats as Hunk hurries to take the chicken off the stove before it overcooks, ever the chef even for stray kittens.

The cat in the box hisses at him, and looks to be incredibly peeved that she isn’t receiving the same attention as her siblings when Shiro goes to look at her.

Shiro weighs the pros and cons. On one hand, the cat looks more irritated that she’s been displaced and isn’t receiving cuddles than she is scared and on the verge of attack.

On the _other_ hand, Shiro doesn’t know much about kitty language. And, if he’s reading it wrong, he may actually lose a finger with how fussy the cat seemed to be.

He hums in thought, tapping his chin, and sticks his prosthetic hand in the box, to test.

The cat watches it from the corner of her eyes, both ears peeled as she pretends to be more interested in the dull beige of the box wall.

He wiggles his finger, and her tail swishes from one side to the other. When he pulls away, she tenses, and, before he can escape, lunges at her target.

Instead of attacking, though, she hops onto his arm and plops soundly on his elbow as he hurries to keep it level from the sudden weight.

If she were able, she’d probably haughtily ‘hmph’ at him, but tilting her head away with a soft purr seems to do the trick well enough.

Shiro loves her.

\---

By the time Hunk comes back with plates for each of them, Shiro is prone on the ground as the four kittens paw and clamber over his legs, full of boundless energy even as it nears one in the morning.

Hunk smooches him on the cheek, schmoopy in the way he whispers, “Love you.” Under his breath.

“I named them.” Shiro says innocently, as Hunk urges the kitties closer with the smell of meat.

Hunk pauses for half a beat, imperceptibly tilting his head. He makes sure the food is completely cool one last time before he sets the plates in a neat little row. “Yeah?”

Shiro crawls close with the softest look on his face. The shy one, small as can be, seems happy when he passes his fingers behind his ears. “This is Booger.”

As if on cue, the cat sneezes against his fingers as he scratches his chin. Hunk fondly shakes his head, carefully backing away as the mean kitten stares him down when he gets too close to her plate.

To Shiro, though, she purrs like an angel as he picks up a piece of chicken to hand feed her. “And this is Sweetpea.”

“Obviously.” Hunk deadpans, resting his chin in his palms as he lays out beside his husband. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen Shiro so enthralled with something, but so gentle at the same time. “And what about chunky, here?”

“Aurora Borealis.”

Hunk outright laughs at that one, completely taken by surprise. “And what spurred _that_ decision?”

Shiro grins, lifting Aurora up for some much desired cuddles. “She’s big and demands attention. It’s fitting!”

Hunk still has the chuckles once the cats finish eating, gathering up the licked-clean plates. When he comes back, Shiro is more or less smothered by Aurora’s belly, and Sweetpea has stolen both his hands, scaring off her siblings to keep it that way.

The friendly one, with the tail that never stops moving, gets distracted from playing with carpet lint and meows at him in greeting. When he picks her up, she seems as excitable as she’s been the entire evening, stealing his shoulder as her basking spot.

Her tail wags almost like a dog’s, nearly smacking Hunk in the nose despite her being a tiny little thing.

“Did you name this one?”

Shiro lifts Aurora completely off his face, peeking at them with one eye.

“I’m not sure yet. A girl, right?”

Hunk peeks between the cat’s legs, only to realize he has no idea what cat genitals look like. “Uh?”

Shiro makes grabby hands for her. “None of them have been fixed, I think.” He gestures to Booger, who is content laying half underneath the couch, away from the crowd. “That one still has a penis.”

“Lance would’ve had a field day with that.” Hunk helpfully informs, stuffing the wet towels into the box to clean up later.

The unnamed kitty purrs, wiggling in Shiro’s hold. Hunk steals her back to press kisses against the top of her head, of which she returns plentifully with her own scratchy tongue.

“I’m naming this one.” Hunk declares, suddenly. “She’s my favorite.”

Shiro gasps, outraged if not for the playful smile on his face. “You can’t choose a favorite! They’re all our kids.”

“What they don’t know won’t hurt them.” Hunk presses his nose against his favorite kitty’s, and she returns it by licking him straight up the nostril. When he jerks her back with a surprised snort, her tongue is left poking between her lips in a tiny little ‘blep’ and Hunk immediately understands how Shiro fell in love with them so quickly.

He gathers up his family, Shiro and the cats, and settles all five of them on the couch. One of their throw blankets finds its way wrapped around the lot of them, and Shiro snuggles up against Hunk’s front so that the cats have somewhere warm to lay, nestled in the crook of his arms.

“We’re gonna have to take them to the vet tomorrow.” Hunk says with a yawn. “I call taking care of Booger. And Beatrice.”

“Beatrice?”

Hunk kisses the curve of Shiro’s ear, the closest place he can reach without ruining the comfortable groove he’d made for himself. Then, he gestures to the silly kitten that never seems to want to rest, climbing across their tangled legs for adventure.

“Beatrice Laurent Emelia Patrice.” Hunk says with a grin that Shiro can hear, without even needing to glance back. “Blep for short.”

Shiro tosses his hands in the air, slow as not to accidentally throw a kitten or two. “And you said _I_ had bad names.”

“They aren’t bad! Just silly.” Hunk circles his hands around Shiro, pulling them flush together. “Just like you, sweetcheeks.”

Shiro lifts his nose in the air, superficially haughty. “No one would ever believe you.”

Hunk attacks him with kisses until Sweetpea gets tired of the jostling and shouts at them to settle down, meowing like an old man would grumble under his breath.

They share another, quieter, laugh before they settle in for a long overdue nap. The rest would have to be something they worried about in the morning.

Hunk isn’t much sure how they’re gonna handle jumping from no pets to _four_ , especially when they’d barely had much prior experience, but how could he refuse when Shiro is so happy?

And besides, it couldn’t be much harder than saving the universe. Right?

**Author's Note:**

> hunk ship week is almost over, but you can still check it out and participate [here](http://hunkshipweek.tumblr.com/)!


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